The U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest point since 1973. In 2011, there were fewer than 17 terminations for every 1,000 women; a fall of 13% since 2008 and only a little higher than when the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade. You might not guess that's the way things are trending from what politicians have to say about the issue, given that they tend to prefer to discuss morals or rights rather than practicalities and realities. These numbers confirm that politics and mass culture are drifting further and further apart.

At least four former Marlboro Men, those rugged actors of the famous ad campaign, have died of smoking-related disease. The latest was Eric Lawson, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by a three-pack-a-day habit. Lawson, the face of what became the best-selling brand of cigarettes, was felled by the lethal products he helped promote.

People are mourning the tragic overdose death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found Sunday morning alone in his New York apartment with a needle in his arm and empty bags of heroin.

Cancer cases are expected to surge 57% worldwide in the next 20 years, an imminent "human disaster" that will require a renewed focus on prevention to combat, according to the World Health Organization.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are searching for two men in connection with the disappearance of a Virginia police captain. Waynesboro police captain Kevin Quick, 45, was last seen leaving his mother's house Friday night on his way to visit a friend 20 miles away, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Gellar.

Over the course of several years, Beth's boyfriend shattered her elbow, shot at her, threatened to kill her, lit a pile of clothes on fire in her living room, and, she told me, beat her face into a swollen, purple pulp.

CNN columnist John D. Sutter recently traveled to Alaska to try to find out why that state has the highest rate of reported rape in the nation -- three times the national average -- and what could be done to change that. He's asking readers to be part of the solution.

One of the cooler experiences I've had in recent memory was meeting Elsie Nanugaq Tommy, a spry 104-year-old who started a secret women's shelter decades ago out of her home in Newtok, Alaska. She's a bundle of smiles and optimism -- and her legacy of helpfulness already has been passed down to her granddaughter, Denise Tommy, who is executive director of the Tundra Women's Coalition in Bethel, Alaska, which shelters women and fights violence with educational programs.

Over the course of several years, Beth's boyfriend shattered her elbow, shot at her, threatened to kill her, lit a pile of clothes on fire in her living room, and, she told me, beat her face into a swollen, purple pulp.

Cancer cases are expected to surge 57% worldwide in the next 20 years, an imminent "human disaster" that will require a renewed focus on prevention to combat, according to the World Health Organization.